


The Tape

by Snoot37



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:19:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snoot37/pseuds/Snoot37
Summary: The directors of IM3 said that they toyed with the idea of Pepper hooking up with Killian, who would later broadcast a tape of it in a store, as a subplot to the movie. Terrible idea of course. But how would that scenario have actually played out? Could eventual Pepperony come of it? Warning for mature themes and borderline non-consentual situations.





	The Tape

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I would like to start off by saying I did not want to write this story. I find the idea of Tony/Pepper with anyone else to be disconcerting, (especially if it involves one of the villains, which is why I stop reading stories that hook Pepper up with Justin Hammer, no matter how good they are) even if it ends in eventual Pepperony, and yet sometimes I just can’t stop reading them. This story came about after I was doing some web searching for possible deleted scenes we could expect on the Iron Man 3 DVD, and I came across an interview in which the directors, Drew Pearce and Shane Black, talk about some of the ideas they had for the movie that were eventually tossed out. I’m not a fan of the comics, but I understand why their take on the Mandarin angered so many people. Once I read what they planned to do to Pepper, I was like “Gentlemen, do you even have wives? Girlfriends? Seriously, did some woman do this to you?” They were going to have Pepper get down with Killian because she’s mad at Tony and was overwhelmed by the Extremis pheromones he was giving off. Uh huh. Talk about OOC. At least for Pepper, she’s just not like that. But then supposedly Killian was going to make a tape and broadcast it all over a Home Depot or something.

OK, aside from the fact that this is a family movie, (hence no shower scene) or was supposed to be, I read that and was like WTF? Unfortunately, that barb sat in my brain. They had already trashed the Mandarin, what would they do to Pepper? How could I save my Pepperony in my own mind if this had really been part of the movie? How would *I* have written it if ordered to do so by these guys? My husband’s cousin nearly stormed out of the theater after the reveal about the Mandarin. I can’t promise I wouldn’t have followed him if they had honestly done this to Pepper.

See, I write fanfiction for one of three reasons: 1) I have writer’s block and I need to get past it by writing something else. 2) I want to continue stories with characters I have come to love that are no longer being written about. 3) The writers of characters I love do something completely moronic and idiotic with them and I have to *fix* it in my mind. The third reason is why this fanfiction exists. Also, I apologize for the length of time between my stories, for those who read my other ones, especially “My Best Friend’s Baby” and were clamoring for more. My publisher wanted all sorts of rewrites on my last book, and it’s been eating up my time. I hope I can manage to finish this one before everyone here sends out a lynching party after me. ;-)

Warning for situations that could be interpreted as borderline non-consentual. If you trigger easily, might want to skip this one. Warning for mature themes.

 

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The Tape

 

Pepper sped down the coastal highway to Malibu as the sun I was setting over the coast in a gorgeous sunset. But she barely saw the beautiful vestige before her. Her mind was in a chaotic turmoil that ranged from horror and despair and guilt to residual memories of physical pleasure that she should not have been feeling at all. She was shaking so bad she could barely hold the wheel steady. 

The day had started off normally enough. When she got up this morning, she certainly had not been expecting that by the end of the day she would have been guilty of the very thing she has always worried Tony would someday be guilty of: infidelity. When the relationship became public knowledge to the media, scores of people had come out of the woodwork claiming that both of them were being unfaithful, and making guesses on how long it will last before Tony got bored with her and wandered. She was called a fool more times than one, because she should have known after 10 years what to expect from Tony, everyone said. She certainly had not seen coming, nor would anybody else, that she would be the one to cheat. She still couldn't believe it. When she left for the office this morning, she had not thought that anything like this would have happened by the day’s end. 

She would be the first to admit that things were not going as smoothly with Tony as she had hoped it would be by now. Ever since the incident in New York, he had been withdrawn and stressed out. She could see that he was suffering from post dramatic stress disorder, and she didn't know how to help him. Her suggestion that he see someone about it was usually brushed off and ignored, and his nightmares were becoming worse. She had tried everything she could think of to help him and nothing was working. She was getting really frustrated with him, and she felt guilty for being frustrated. She had wanted to be as supportive as she could, but it seemed like her efforts were in vain. All he wanted to do was tinker in the workshop with the suits. It seemed to be the only thing that could bring him peace, which did little for her confidence in herself and her place in his life. Rationally, she knew, after over a decade of friendship with him, that he loved her and needed her, as she did him. But the emotional part of herself was hurt by his withdrawal into himself, his lack of peace lying by her side in bed, unable to sleep, his inability to cope and recover and be the man she needed him to be.

It was supposed to be date night for them, and JARVIS had informed her hours ago via text that he had already eaten without her, and was in the process of launching another suit, which meant he'd be downstairs all night. She had been more than a little angry. She had been furious in fact, and the text had come through right as her meeting with Aldrich Killian was drawing to a close. 

She had dressed that morning in her white suit, perhaps subconsciously trying up convey that she was pure, and therefore untouchable, upstanding and assured to whoever she dealt with that day. She had been dreading the meeting with Killian for weeks, and had woken up with a groan, not wanting to get out of bed. Tony was nowhere around, probably downstairs again, and she wondered if he had even come to bed at all. She had tried talking to him about Killian and her apprehension at having to see him again, but Tony had not really paid attention. 

Prior to coming to work at Stark Industries, Pepper had landed a job at AIM working for Killian. It was a good way to get her foot in the door of corporate accounting after being a green graduate of UCLA with no work experience in her field. She had done some modeling in collage to pay bills, but still had astronomical student loans, nonetheless. She needed a paycheck that didn't involve being made up like Bozo the Clown and being hit on by every guy in the industry she met. But despite her new conservative business suit look, hair in a ponytail instead of waves, she still turned heads and drew attention, to her chagrin, the amusement of her male coworkers and jealousy of her female coworkers. She had not made many friends and felt very isolated at AIM. Then Killian, with his wild nerdy look, physical deformities and odd personality, had taken an interest in her. 

It was next to impossible to shake him off, he was the boss after all, and he never seemed to take a hint when she repeatedly turned down his invitations for dinner or more. He was convinced it was because of his infirmities, but she couldn't explain to anyone, especially him, that while she did not find him physically attractive at all, the real reason she backed up from him was that, frankly, he creeped her out. There was something about him, something dark and foreboding, even manic, that raised her red flags. He had no concept of personal boundaries, and some of his comments made her seriously question his ethics and morals. He was driven and determined, and didn't take well to not getting what he wanted, as she witnessed when business deals fell through or a project didn't work out. He would yell or throw things, but then, the next second be calm and collected, smiling to himself as he walked out, and then the next day, the hapless employee who had displeased him found himself fired for something as mundane as being a minute late back from lunch, while others walked in fifteen minutes late with no reprimand. Killian would even go so far as to have nitpicky things put in the employees' file, questioning competence and insinuations to references, making it harder for the person to find a new job. With all of this, followed by his growing interest in her and the unfriendly work environment, Pepper had started looking elsewhere for a job. 

 

She had jumped at the chance to move to Stark Industries, even though it meant $300 a month less in salary, a blow to someone struggling financially as she had been, but well worth it for her peace of mind. She immediately made friends at S.I., felt more comfortable in her work, and even with a playboy like Tony Stark as the CEO, never felt the burden of borderline sexual harassment. She had heard later that Killian had pitched a fit when she left, accusing her of being disloyal and of her being "stolen," by Tony, which was absurd because it would be another 6 months before she even met Tony Stark. He had tried calling her as much as 7 times a day until she switched to an unlisted number, then he had tried showing up at S.I. hoping to catch her to talk before she passed the security checkpoint. 

Finally, he seemed to fade away, much to her relief, and the only thing she had heard about him came a few years later, when someone at AIM that she still corresponded with told her that Killian's reaction to hearing that she was now Tony Stark's personal assistant was a cold stare and a mutter of the words "what a waste," before never mentioning it again. She had all but forgotten Killian since then, until her new duties as CEO in Tony's place meant that she was now the one responsible for meeting with people like Killian to discuss business partnerships. She was resigned to this, but it still unnerved her. She had coasted through most of the day trying to distract herself with work until it was time for the meeting, wishing there was some way she could beg off of it. But she only knew that if she cancelled, he would reschedule, so the best thing was to get it over with as soon as possible. 

This was why she had not been prepared for the man who stood waiting for her in the conference room. His face was the same, but instead of the manic, earnest genius, his expression was calm, cool and collected, and very sure of himself. His hair was cut and styled in glossy waves, and he stood upright in a well cut suit, without a hint of his misshapen spine or crippled legs ever having been a part of him. Standing upright, he could now look her square in the eye, and his gaze was strong a piercing. His smile to her was confident, and yet that hint of darkness was still there, if not more prevalent. He was almost predatory, but his body language was open and inviting, and Pepper found herself smiling in disbelief and, to her shock, attraction. The man in front of her was nothing like the man she remembered, and he was, well, alluring. 

Pepper felt the oddest sensations wash over her as she sent a protesting Happy away. She still felt anxiety, but the dread was gone and was replaced by an odd sense of anticipation. She watched with unabashed fascination as he demonstrated his holo projector and how his project, Extremis, supposedly enhanced the human form as a possible next step in human evolution. His insistence that Extremis could cure all illness and infirmities, could heighten aspects of the human body, could be the greatest thing ever, both attracted her but also repelled her. It was obvious that he himself had been a recipient of this technology, which had cured his physical infirmities, even though he didn’t say it. But she did note in the file that there was no FDA approval for human testing. He had done it without authorization. She was still practical enough, having spent 10 years helping Tony administer S.I. as a weapons company dealing with the military, to know how military minds would think about Extremis. They would see it as a means of creating super soldiers and weaponizing the process, and she would not have S.I. a party to that. No, Extremis was fascinating, a major breakthrough in bioengineering no doubt, but it was also too dangerous and she told him so. 

But even as she did, even as she told him “no” to partnering AIM to S.I. to develop Extremis, she felt both caution and a weird warmth spreading through her. His nearness as he demonstrated the holo image to her, his unashamed invasion of her personal space once again, both made her uncomfortable and...turned on. She knew he didn't take disappointment well, but as he continued to look at her and smile, she felt as if she was being dunked into a hot tub. Tingling warmth spread down her spine to her core and she crossed her legs as she felt herself grow damp. What the hell was happening? The longer she spent in his presence, the more turned on she was getting. She didn't understand it.

He had offered to take her out for drinks later as a sort of no hard feelings gesture, which she had immediately initially declined. She was the high-profile girlfriend of a high-profile superhero, and the media gave them enough hell as it was guessing how long it would be until they broke up or have three kids, whichever came first. To be seen having drinks with another man, one who could be linked to her past if witnesses could be found who would gladly tell for a little money how Killian had pursued her in the past, would be begging for rumors and gossip. But then JARVIS’ text had come through, indicating that she should not rush home as Tony had eaten dinner already and was tinkering with the latest suit, which ensured that he would not only be busy for the rest of the night in his workshop, but had clearly forgotten that it was the night they were supposed to spend together. 

She was angry, no doubt, and more than a little hurt. She had looked up to see Killian smiling at her with allure again, and once again, felt that strange tingling want working its way down her spine to her core. Suddenly, any doubt was gone from her mind. She wanted to meet up with him later. She wanted to feel the intoxicating sensation of being near him. She had nearly forgotten that this was a man who had, for years, given her creepy feelings and had once all but stalked her. He seemed so different now. She felt herself inexplicably drawn to him. 

“You know,” she said, pocketing her phone, “I think I will meet up with you later. It's been a while, we should catch up. I don't really have to he anywhere for a while.”

His smile was brilliant and she felt herself flush. “That’s great,” he said eagerly. “Won't um, Tony, mind though?”

Her smile wavered a bit. “He's busy booting up his latest invention. It usually takes a while, but he's going to be busy with it for a few more hours. We can talk business. I don't know why he'd mind about that,” she said. 

“Of course,” Killian replied. “Business. I might convince you to back Extremis yet. If not, AIM is working on several projects Stark Industries might find fascinating. Who knows? Maybe there are...other liaisons we can forge?”

Pepper felt a jolt of electricity right between her legs at his words. Clearly he had meant it as an invitation to something other than business. But he had cloaked it as such to put the ball in her court, to accept if she wished, or pretend it was about business to save face. Pepper knew she had absolutely no intention of THAT. She might be mad at Tony and frustrated with him, but she loved him and was faithful to him. She was only meeting Killian as a professional courtesy, nothing more. Sure, it was a sideways way to get back at Tony, but in the end, it was harmless. And sure, she might be slightly attracted to Aldrich Killian, now that he had changed, with the hidden aspect of darkness about him adding to the dangerous allure of him, but it was an indulgence if the mind to her, nothing more. She'd meet him for drinks at the cafe near his place in Sherman Oaks, have one drink, and then go home. It was simple. 

Oh, if only it had gone that way!

As they had walked out the door, Killian had said he wasn't going to pretend he wasn't disappointed, but to take care and he would see her later. Then he had, quite unexpectedly, landed a friendly peck on her cheek that had floored her and left her slightly flustered when Happy came out. She had brushed off his concerns, trying to hide her growing blush and discomfort, unsuccessfully before rushing back inside. She thought she would have to shake Happy off when she left, but oddly enough, he had ended up leaving early for the day. With a certain amount of apprehension and anticipation, she pointed her car towards Sherman Oaks instead of Malibu. 

The entire drive, she asked herself what the hell she was doing. Why was she going to meet Killian when it was date night with Tony back home? Ok, so he had gotten caught up in his tinkering, as he always did, but really, what exactly was she expecting here? What were they supposed to talk about that they didn't cover in their official meeting? When Pepper had been around Killian, as time passed, she had found herself more and more drawn to him, her temperature raising, her breathing slightly faster, and that disquieting dampness between her legs, something she had never experienced around him before, and as of late, only experienced around Tony. Her decision to meet him later had been motivated by her overwhelming need to continue to feel his presence, nothing more. But hours had passed since then, and since he had left, the odd attraction to him had dissipated somewhat and now she wasn't sure what she felt at all. She was leaning back towards feeling apprehension around him. This morning she had dreaded meeting with Killian, now she was rushing after work for a second, unnecessary meeting? 

She should turn around and go home now, she knew. But she had already accepted his invitation for drinks, and it would be rude to stand him up. She would make if quick and get home. She pulled into the parking lot of the cafe next to his apartment building and walked in. He was waiting for her at the door. He smiled broadly and with self assurance, and took both of her hands in his. 

"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said. 

"I said I would," she replied, "although I can't stay long. I have to get home."

She saw a dark flicker in his eyes before it was gone and he smiled again. "Tony waiting up for you?"

She wasn't quite able to hide the bitterness in her voice entirely when she laughed, "Hardly. When he gets going on a project, he'll look up at some point and realize its three days later." 

He had led her to a small alcove, quite far out of the way of traffic, so enclosed, in fact, that it had three walls closing in a small table and Pepper felt a mild twinge of claustrophobia. 

"I thought you'd want to be out of the line of sight," he said. "The paparazzi do seem to love you these days."

She blushed and mumbled "thank you."

They ordered some drinks and leaned across the table, talking about business related woes, tax season coming up soon, the stress over legal issues with contracts, and other things. Gradually, talk turned personal as he admitted he hadn't really dated much and he managed to get her to admit her frustration with Tony following the New York incident. 

"So he's ignoring you for the suits?" Killian asked bluntly.

Pepper felt herself flush and felt her usual need to defend Tony, but since she had sat at this table, she had been feeling that odd attraction to Killian again, only stronger this time. She started to say that he was a genius whose mind just worked differently, and he had been through a lot, but her voice trailed off as Killian stared into her eyes and she felt her knees go inexplicably weak. What was wrong with her? 

"You know Pepper," he said, "I'd never ignore you for an invention." 

She knew her face must be as red as a tomato, and she could feel her willpower crumbling fast. If she hadn't known better, she'd swear she was drunk given how her inhibitions were flying out the window, but she had only had half a martini and didn't feel the least bit tipsy. 

"Killian," she sighed, still refusing to call him by his first name despite his insistence, "You'll make some woman very happy someday I'm sure. But that is never going to be me." 

She said it gently, kindly, and she expected him to look a little disappointed but accepting. She didn't expect him to smile even wider and lean into her with a dominant air. She felt her heart rate increase and her breathing catch. His scent was intoxicating and it was making her lightheaded. 

"Oh I don't know," he said suggestively. "I expect I could make you very happy."

Then, before Pepper knew what had happened, he leaned across the tiny table and kissed her. And this time it wasn't a peck on the cheek either. Her first impulse was to pull away fast, get up and run for her car. But in an instant, that impulse was gone, replaced by an explosion of fiery lust that drove her to kiss him back. It went in for a very long minute, Long enough for any lingering doubts Pepper might have had to blow away. She knew nothing else but that she was consumed with lust for him, pretty sure she was going to die of a heart attack if she couldn't have him right there. Any thought of Tony or what this would mean for the both of them were nonexistent in her mind. Her eyes mirrored her surprise, but his eyes boring into hers caused her to smile back in invitation. 

She only had a hazy blurry image of Killian paying for their drinks and leading her out the side door. She followed him without question to his apartment and back to his bedroom. At some point Pepper’s logical mind did try to make an appearance and ask her just what the ever living hell she thought she was doing, but her lust driven mind soundly squelched it. 

There were no formalities or prelude or even much foreplay. He shed his clothes in a matter of seconds, before starting to pull hers off. She didn't stop him but she couldn't bring herself to help him either. It was like she was on autopilot. He kissed her hard and guided her down onto his bed, climbing on top of her. He probed her with determination, and, finding her flowing with need already, guided himself in and entered her quickly. She yelped with his entry, feeling him stretch her, pull back, and then thrust in again. He kissed her roughly, possessively, driving her with his thrusting in time to his tongue probing her mouth. She arched into him, feeling his pubic bone press hard into her clit. His hands gripped her breasts but didn't linger there, more intent on the intercourse part. His mouth dropped to her neck and sucked as she squeezed her eyes shut. 

Her mind couldn't form a clear thought. She tried to comprehend what was happening but her brain was awash with hormones, driving her like a race car and she had no control. With a particularly hard thrust, she orgasmed hard, crying out as she pulsed around him. With a shout, he followed her, his hot fluids filling her. She gulped and gasped, trying to catch her breath. Suddenly, her logical mind broke through the lust as she felt his semen being deposited inside her. 

'Tony. I'm cheating on Tony. I'm being unfaithful to the man I love. I don't love this man. What am I doing?!'

She was still trying to fight for control of her mind when he finally collapsed on her, his body so hot it was almost unnatural. She peeked through her squeezed shut eyes and could have sworn she saw slight streaks of orange glow around his skin before she opened her eyes and saw nothing out of the ordinary about him. He was breathing hard as he pulled out, his smile almost apologetic, and still fiercely determined as he looked down at her. 

She felt exposed, and now, ashamed at her nakedness, as she turned to her side facing away from him, trying to clear her lust driven mind and think straight. His smile became a bit more arrogant. 

"Too much for you?" he said somewhat proudly and mockingly. "That's ok, you'll get used to it. This is going to be a good match for both of us, Pepper. And with Stark supporting Extremis, maybe some of my other projects too, we can see a lot of each other."

His words snapped her back to reality. Her mind instantly cleared. Support Extremis? She had already told him no and why. He expected more sex from her?   
What the hell had she done, consenting to this time? She also didn't like the arrogant way he was looking at her. She knew damn well that she had been used, and she knew better than to bemoan that fact. It was Killian after all. No sense in focusing on that now. She needed to get out and fast, before anyone had seen her car nearby or worse, seen her leave with him. She needed to get away before whatever lust driven phenomenones that had happened to her took hold again. She could already feel it rising in her again, a driving need for him, as his hands began to wander possessively over her body. She rolled away and off the bed, not caring if he saw her in her complete naked form. She swiftly gathered up her clothes, pulling them back on. 

"Going somewhere?" he asked somewhat disappointed. 

"Home," she said firmly, "Where I should have gone straight from work. This was a mistake, a bad one. There won't be a repeat and none of this means Stark Industries will support your project, Killian. I don't make business decisions like this. The answer is still no."

His expression turned dark and she took an involuntary step back. His tone held the hint of a sneer when he said, "Oh really? Seems like the bedroom is where you made a lot of business decisions with Tony. And it's not like he's taking care of you there if you were so eager for a go with me."

She wanted to fire back at him angrily, but some instinctive self preservation part of her mind that was still in control urged her to let it go and get out. She had managed to get herself looking decent and grabbed her purse and shoes. She flew out the door and down the stairs to the street, pausing to put on her heels before going outside, and rushing to her car. She broke about three traffic laws pulling out of the parking lot, blowing through a red light and rushing to the freeway to get back home to Tony's mansion in Malibu. She had to be dreaming. This was just a bad dream, it had to be. She had just been unfaithful to Tony with Aldrich Killian, a man she had distrusted and been repulsed by for so long. Did she really find him attractive now? How had she?

And yet she had. She still did. Actually, she could still feel the burning lust for him in the back of her mind, her body still experiencing the occasional orgasmic aftershock. But the further away she drove from him and the closer she got to Tony, the more consumed with horror she became. She started to shake badly and she felt nauseous. What the hell had she done? And why? And what was she supposed to do now?

She knew she had to tell Tony. Cheating was one thing, but being dishonest was worse. When they had first become a couple, they had kept it quiet for several months, knowing that when their relationship became public knowledge, the media would eviscerate both of them with bets on how long it would take Tony to get bored with her and be caught cheating. Everyone just assumed a womanizer like him would eventually cheat, for surely one woman would never be enough? Telling everyone they had already been together for months without problems took some of the wind out of the sails of that argument. But she had told Tony that she wouldn't tolerate cheating if they were going to be a couple. She had made him promise never to lie to her if he did it, that if he were honest about it, she'd consider giving him a second chance, but that lying was worse than infidelity to her. She also to him that if she ever found out he had been unfaithful from a source other than him, it was over without question. He had nodded solemnly and agreed. Now here she was, *she* had been the unfaithful one. She bet nobody saw that one coming, certainly not herself. 

She had not gotten out of bed that morning intending to be having sex with anyone except Tony later. She was angry and frustrated with him, but not enough to jeopardize her relationship with him. She had been dreading seeing Aldrich Killian, how had she ended up in bed with him? Hot tears started to flow down her cheeks. She had betrayed Tony. Poor Tony, a genius orphan who always wondered if his parents had ever loved him. Lonely and isolated by his wealth and intelligence, used by women as much as he had used them, but with no true loving relationship most of his life. Betrayed by his godfather who sought to have him killed by terrorists so he could control the company, the regent unwilling to hand over the throne to the boy king. Traumatized by the events in New York, making it impossible for him to sleep without nightmares. Now, his girlfriend, the one person he trusted to never lie to him or betray him had just, out of the blue, slept with another man, a man she had almost despised. This was going to devastate him. But she had to tell him. 

Her stomach twisted into a knot of fear as she drove through the gate, the sun completely gone on the horizon. She felt an unpleasant nauseous twist and her head was pounding. It was over between them, she knew it. She obviously couldn't support him emotionally or physically and he would never trust her again. He would be so angry and hurt. She might as well start packing her things tonight and start looking for a place to live tomorrow. A deep seething hatred of Killian rose in her chest. She was certain he must have done something to her, but she couldn't figure out that. Whatever had happened, thought, it virtually assured the end of her relationship with Tony. And the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that he had done do on purpose, with that very intent, for no reason other than she had spurned his advances for years, then shot down his business offer. For that, he had done something to her to make her more than willing to ruin her life for a roll in the hay with him, even assuming she would change her mind in the process. Why would he assume that, unless he had done something out of the ordinary to her mind? She could already feel the hazy lust fading. It was being replaced by disgust. All the more proof that something had been done to her to alter her behavior, because she asked herself would she still want Killian now, even debonair and handsome and supposedly cured of his disabilities? She might feel attraction, but she would not have sex with him. That she had meant something out of the ordinary must have happened. 

She pulled around into the drive and saw a strange sight. A giant stuffed bunny was sitting in the circle drive wearing a sign that said "Merry Christmas Pepper" around its neck. She got out and gaped at it, slightly shaking her head. Tony. 

Tears threatened at her eyes again, and she got back into the car and drive down the garage drive, something she rarely did, to park her car in his workshop. She felt her stomach grow cold as she drove down the sloping, circular tunnel, the doors parting to allow her access, and she drove alongside his Audi R8 and parked. 

"Pep?" Tony's voice called with surprise, "Why are you parking down here? Is it raining?" 

At the sound of his voice she felt her stomach twist and she started shaking again. She felt dizzy. Suddenly he was at her door pulling it open and leaning into her. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked. “You look kind of sick.” 

“Move,” she whispered, “I think I am going to be sick.” 

He jumped out of her way as she kicked her heels off in the car and tumbled out of the door. Stumbling she dashed past him to the small bathroom on the other side of the workshop. She made it just in time as the contents of her stomach spilled out into the toilet. She felt herself go weak as she sank to the floor and curled up into a ball sobbing. Tony was at her side in an instant. 

“Hey, hey, don't cry, it's okay,” he whispered. “It's probably just a stomach bug. Why don't you go up and take a shower and go to bed early?” 

She didn't answer but instead curled up even tighter, her crying becoming more insistent. 

Tony was at a loss. It's not like he had never seen Pepper get sick before.   
Such things were never pleasant, but part of being a biological entity. Lord knows she had seen him hurl plenty of times, due to hangovers. He couldn't comprehend why she was crying now. It especially unnerved him, because she almost never cried from commonplace emotions. She only cried when something was terribly wrong, and that scared him. 

“Pep, please come on, it's not that bad,” he said. “You'll probably feel better in the morning.” 

“Not sick,” she whimpered. “It's worse.” 

“Something’s worse than being sick?” he asked. ‘Oh lord, is she pregnant?’ he wondered to himself.

She didn't answer, but only nodded and turned her face away. 

“Did something happen?” he asked. 

Again she nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Can you tell me?” he asked. 

“I have to,” she whimpered. 

He waited, but she didn't say anything. He thought about nudging her or saying something, but instead sat back and waited for her to come to her senses. Finally she started to speak. 

“The, uh, the meeting with Killian went okay,” she said. “We're not going to be able to do business with him, though. This project is too dangerous. I don't want our name tied to it, if something goes wrong.” 

Tony nodded, knowing that Pepper always make good decisions like these, but it didn't explain why she was upset. 

“He uh... he asked me if I was up to going to get a drink after work,” she admitted. “I didn't really want to, but JARVIS said you were busy, and, uh, had already eaten so... I figured you were busy.” 

She wasn't completely able to keep the disappointment out of her voice, or the mild irritation, and with a lurch, Tony remembered it was date night. 

“Oh Pep I, I'm sorry,” he started, but she stopped him with a wave. She didn't want him to apologize, when in a minute, she expected to be the one begging for forgiveness. 

“I....met up with him after work,” she said quietly. 

Tony was confused. “I thought he made your skin crawl? I thought you couldn't wait to get the meeting over with? Why meet up with him again?”

Pepper squeezed her eyes shut and bit back another wave of bile as ittried to work its way up her throat. 

She shook her head. "I...I don't know. I wanted to. I can't explain it. He's different now, he....he's not crippled anymore, he's not awkward and wild, he's...."

"What, prince charming or something?" Tony asked, meaning it as a joke. 

He didn't expect her to answer "Yeah." He felt an odd twist in his abdomen and a pressure between his eyes. He wasn't often in a situation where he felt stings of jealousy, so it was weird to feel them now. 

"I figured just one drink to catch up on old stuff, and then come home," she said. "I wasn't expecting...I didn't know I was going to...I didn't plan....he was..."

She broke off and choked back a sob, burying her face again. Now Tony was scared, and angry. What had happened? Had Killian done something to Pepper? Hurt her in some way? She had always said he gave her a creepy feeling and had borderline stalked her before. She had been having an alcoholic drink. Had he slipped her the date rape drug?

"Did he....hurt you?" Tony asked stiffly. 

"Not exactly," she said softly. "He....he was flirting. And he was...overpowering. I couldn't think straight. It was intoxicating.   
I...felt....I didn't have any control over myself, it's like I was high or something..."

She broke off, unable to go on, her hand over her eyes.

Tony felt his head go hot and he sat back on his heels, looking down at her still lying on her side in her rumpled white suit, curled up into a ball hugging herself, her eyes staring off into the distance, or closed tightly. 

"You...you're saying you were, what? Turned on by him?" he asked slowly. 

Pepper nodded. "It was like I was drunk. I don't know how it happened...he...he kissed me. And I, uh, I didn't fight it." 

Tony felt a jolt of ice in his stomach and hot anger flashed in his head. She had kissed another man? Or let another man kiss her without protest? His first impulse was to jump up and yell at her, and then go find Killian and beat the crap out of him. But then he calmed down and told himself not to overreact. She was obviously upset about the entire thing, and she did say she had felt weird, as if intoxicated. She didn't seem drunk now and had driven home ok, but she had indicated that Killian had caused some sort of state in her that kept her from thinking clearly. She didn't know why. He had certainly done stupid stuff while intoxicated, there was no point in giving Pepper a hard time. He would just have to make sure she was never alone again with Aldrich Killian, and be sure to chew Happy out for letting her go alone in the first place. 

He took a deep breath and said "Pepper...that's not like you, you never get wasted and get into situations like these. Someone might have been around with a camera. It might still end up in the Enquirer. I'll get JARVIS to scan the joint for any security footage and delete it, if you let me know where you were. Erase any security video and this will all be just a bad mistake. We can put it behind us. You're not, uh, interested in him are you?"

"No....." she whispered. 

"Well then, don't do that again," he said with a smile. "I mean I'm not cool with you kissing other guys, but I've done crazy stuff while drunk. Belgian princess’ birthday party in ’03 comes to mind. Let's just forget about it. Come on, shower time."

He held out his hand to her, but she shook her head. "That's not all, Tony.   
It's....it’s worse. Worse than just a kiss."

He dropped his hand and looked at her, unsure now. Worse? How could it be worse? What had happened? 

"How much worse?" he asked evenly, but with dread. 

"We....didn't stay there," she said in despair. "I, uh, followed him out.   
I...couldn't resist. I didn't even want to. I can't explain it."

"Followed him where?" Tony asked, his throat going dry. 

"His.....his apartment," she gulped. 

"You went to his apartment?" Tony asked, his voice oddly high. "And then...?"

Pepper squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head hard, turning her face away into the floor, her crying resuming. 

"No..." Tony moaned, "No you didn't. Pepper....you...you had *sex* with him??"

She nodded in misery, unable to look at him. 

Tony sprang to his feet but managed to overcome the urge to back away from her. Instead, burning fury consumed him. He was so pissed off he couldn't see straight. He looked around for something to hit, and settled for the wall. He'd repair the hole later. She jumped at the sound but didn't look up. Tears burned the corner of his eyes. Not Pepper! She wouldn't betray him like this! 

But as he looked down at her, still curled up the floor, he knew she had. The main reason: Pepper couldn't lie if her life depended on it. One of the reasons he had hired her as his PA in the first place was because of her honesty. She hated games like poker where she had to bluff. The only time she had ever managed it was when Stane had cornered her in the office as she was downloading secret files for Tony. She was telling him this, he knew, because she wouldn't be able *not* to. She wouldn't be able to lie to him about this, so she was being honest upfront. It wasn't escaping him either that she was the one who had cheated after the lecture she had given him about what would happen if he ever did. But she had insisted he be honest about it if he ever did, and it looked like she was holding herself to the same standard. But that did little for Tony right now. 

The woman he loved, who he couldn't live without, who he was in a committed relationship with, a first for him, had slept with another man, someone she had claimed to dislike intensely. He wanted to run, to scream, cry, yell and rage at her, and at the same time grab her and hug her and beg her for an explanation why she had done it. He knew he hadn't been attentive lately and his own problems were consuming him, but was she the kind of person who just dropped the ball when things got hard and went off with someone else? He hadn't thought she was. He couldn't stand this. He couldn't stand being in the room with her, the betrayal. He turned and stormed out leaving Pepper biting back waves of hurt and shame. 

He went out to the shop and punched the sofa until his knuckles were sore, then got up and sat in his desk chair, staring at a wall, trying to think about what he should do now. Should she move out? Was this the end, were they finished? Did he want her gone? He just didn't know. The thought of her gone from the house and his life, worse, in another man's arms and bed, made him cold with loneliness and sick with terror. But the thought if her in the next room, in the house, still around after cheating on him, made him hot with fury. He had never thought she would be the one to let him down and betray him this way.

Pepper didn't know how long she lay on the floor crying. It seemed like both minutes and hours. Checking her watch, she saw it had been about twenty minutes. Gradually, her tears ceased and although she was still miserable, a firm resolve had sunk in. She wasn't convinced she hadn't been drugged. If she had been, she needed to know, and she might be running out of time to do it. If this was the end of her life with Tony, it wasn’t going to be without a fight. Although she was repulsed by the idea of Killian, the residual lust was still there. Whatever might have been done to her could still be detected. She dragged herself up, flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth out. She knew Tony was still in the shop and she dreaded going out and facing him, but she had to. She needed his help. 

Slowly, she walked out and saw him sitting at his desk, brooding, his back to her. He didn't turn around when she walked out. 

"I need your help," she said softly. He didn't answer, so she continued, "I wasn't behaving normally, Tony. I don't know what he did, but he did something, and I can still feel it. Do you have any way of taking blood samples and running blood tests? Because if he drugged me, I need to know."

Tony turned to look at her. "You really think you were?" he asked a little tonelessly. 

She shrugged. "It's all I've got at this point." 

Tony looked away, trying to mask the pain from his face. 

"If I might say so, sir," JARVIS chimed in, "the AMAC would certainly suffice for such tests."

“AMAC?” Pepper asked. 

“It stands for Accessible Medical Analysis Chamber,” said Tony. “It was one of my designs for the military. It was designed to be used in the field by mobile military hospitals. It can perform all the tests a regular lab could. I built a prototype. It’s what I was using to track my blood toxicity when the arc was leaking palladium. It has a remote sample collector I carried around.” 

Tony still would not look at her, but at least he was answering which meant he was listening. 

“If I may say so, sir,” said JARVIS, “it would likely be prudent to make use of the main collection chamber to begin with, rather than the remote. To do an initial full blood screen, the system would have to collect several vials, not just a few drops.” 

Pepper paled and gulped a little but nodded. Tony was still angry, angry enough to consider being childish and refusing to help, but logically he knew it was best to eliminate the possibility of Pepper having been drugged before allowing himself to be overcome by that anger. With a sigh, he got up and walked past her to a contraption in a corner. She followed. 

He pulled the device from the corner and activated it, then pulled a stool up to one side of it, and motioned for her to sit. She noticed that he still refused to make eye contact with her, and she couldn't decide whether to be hurt or relieved. She knew that, as far as the "rules" of relationships went, she really didn't have the right to be hurt. She had cheated on him. She certainly didn't have the right to expect him to act like nothing had happened. She should probably be counting herself lucky he was even talking to her at all, she figured. But still, it did hurt. She couldn't understand why she had done what she had done, especially after coming to her senses, and the thought of being drugged in some way automatically would render tonight's events as assault. What she wanted, she realized, was comfort and assurances that everything would be ok. But how could Tony give her that when it looked for all the world like a consensual and intentional case of infidelity? 

"Stick your arm in here," he said, pointing to the opening in the side. 

She hesitated. Many of Tony's inventions had a tendency to explode or catch fire before being fully tested out. But then, he had said he had tried it out on himself already, and she figured a burned arm would probably be the least of her worries, as she was currently looking down the barrel of a major and very public breakup with her superhero boyfriend, unless she could come up with some kind of explanation.

She pulled her suit jacket off to just her thin, short sleeved shirt, and slid her arm into the chamber. The opening sealed itself around her arm and small robotic arms came to life. She watched in fascination as the deft robotic appendages moved, swabbing her inner elbow with an alcoholic solution, and an automated blood pressure cuff coming to life around her arm as it both took her blood pressure, but also allowed the sensing eye to locate a vein. She looked away as another arm with a needle and collection vials moved towards her and expertly inserted the needle to begin collecting her blood. She had always hated needles, even though she wasn't squeamish, but she was in no mood to watch the process. She felt the robotic arms retract, but others came to life, measuring her pulse, and blood sugar from her fingertips. An external arm came to life and moved up to her face, with a mechanized voice instructing her to first blow into the tube for a breathalyzer test, then to breathe normally for a respiration test.

All in all, the entire process took about twenty minutes as the machine measured many of her vitals and ran a multitude of tests. Pepper had to admit, she was impressed with the level this mobile contraption could perform. Her business mind was already racing with the possibilities of marketing this device for Stark Industries, but she was brought back by JARVIS' voice letting them know that the full range of toxicology tests and analysis likely would not be ready before the morning.

As the machine released her, Pepper stood up somewhat shakily and grabbed her   
jacket. Tony had already turned back to his work station.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she said softly.

"'K," Tony said without looking back.

She felt tears spring into her eyes, but she bit them back. She wanted more than anything to ask him to join her, at the very least so she could try and forget her last sexual experience with Killian, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. This was probably the only scenario in which Tony Stark would actively refuse sex, and she didn't want to find out how true that was.

She walked past him towards the stairs, still feeling queasy, but stopped when she heard his voice.

"I, uh...I don't think," he started, then continued, "I don't think we should sleep in the same room, at least not tonight. I need to think, and uh....I just can't."

She didn't turn around, mostly because she didn't want him to see the tears she could no longer hold back. But honestly, she had been expecting this.

"OK," she said just loud enough for him to hear, and then rushed onward up the stairs, allowing herself time to cry only when she was safely out of earshot. If she had looked back, she would have seen the same look, and forced back tears, on his face.

 

********************************************

Tony would allow himself to cry later, he figured, after he was in bed, minus her beside him. He still couldn't believe this was happening. Surely this entire night had been a bad dream? Despite a few flaws, his new Mark 42 suit was behaving as he had hoped it would, and even though he had brushed off date night with Pepper, he had no idea this mess was going to be hitting him when she got home. Was she really that unhappy with him? He didn't want to admit how badly this entire scenario was affecting him, none the least of which because it was his worst fears confirmed. After he had managed to pull his head out of his ass after Afghanistan and re-prioritize his life, he had seen how truly lucky he was to have someone like Pepper stand by him all the years she had. That she had finally consented to becoming romantically involved with him was truly astounding, given what he had put her through and continued to. When he thought about it, he truly couldn't understand why she hadn't taken off, finally fed up with him.

Now it seemed that she had done just that, if only in a moment of weakness. But her obvious upset about the whole thing had him wondering. What if she truly had been drugged? Shouldn't he be supporting her more? After all, if she wasn't in control of herself, it was essentially assault. But she had said it was consentual. He dropped his face into his hands and tried to ignore the ache in his heart. Was it over between them? Could he handle it? His anger would carry him through a breakup, he knew, but eventually his anger would fade and leave him with something much worse: loneliness. He didn't want to let her go, and she didn't seem to want to leave. But where could they go from this? He shook his head to clear it and tried to get back to work, even knowing he would be too distracted to truly get anything done.

He didn't know how long he had been re-soldering the same circuit board when   
JARVIS piped up, "Sir, I think you should probably know, it has been nearly an hour and twenty minutes and Ms. Potts is still in the shower. She has scrubbed herself four times in a row and is now just sitting on the bench. Aside from the fact that she has already more than violated the state's water rationing laws, and seems to be trying to drown herself, my resources indicate that her behavior is not unlike those of sexual assault survivors who feel the need to 'cleanse' themselves. It is a psychological factor that you should be aware of. I have already informed her that I will be cutting off the water and she should consider going to bed, but I thought you should know."

"Thanks JARVIS," said Tony, somewhat tonelessly. His heart ached even more. He wanted to run up to her and throw his arms around her, but he just couldn't. He hated himself, but he was still so confused. How could he comfort her not even knowing how he felt himself about this entire thing? What could he say to her, that everything was OK? It wasn't. That he didn't mind? He did. That he would support her if she had been drugged? She didn't seem like she had been. God what a mess this was.

A few hours later, he finally emerged from the workshop into the living room and noticed that, despite the late hour, a very dim light was on near the sofa. Pepper was asleep on the sofa near the far wall. He walked over to her and looked down. She was so beautiful, especially when she was asleep, that he felt his entire being twist and ache for her. He already missed her, and it had only been a few hours of this. How was he going to make it through the night? With a sigh, he brushed her hair back from her forehead, and pulled the afghan over her shoulders, and then decisively turned and walked up the stairs.

********************

He might as well have stayed downstairs in his lab for all the sleep he was getting, Tony thought to himself irritably. He tossed and turned and finally rolled onto his stomach and forced himself to keep his eyes closed and not stare at the ceiling. The bed beside him was cold and empty and it wasn't helping his insomnia problem. How could he be so angry at her, hurt and mystified, and still miss her presence next to him, snoring lightly or her arm thrown over him? He had grown used to her presence in his life and any absence of her stung hard and added to his heartache. 

Was she truly asleep downstairs, instead of wide awake like him, not feeling the same hurt he was feeling? He remembered her anguish lying on the floor of the bathroom, and JARVIS telling him that she had taken an hour and a half long somber shower. She was probably exhausted from that, to say nothing of her 'activities' earlier. He tried not to think about it, but images of her in another man's arms came unbidden to torture him and add to his anguish. He had looked up Aldrich Killian after Happy's video call reminding him that they had already met the man years ago, and images of his face flashed through Tony's mind. 

Had she enjoyed it? Arched her back in orgasm as she did with him? Had they kissed? Done more? Did she want Killian again? 

Stop it! He yelled at himself mentally. You don't deserve this, stop doing this to yourself!

He pounded his fist into the pillow and buried his face to stifle a moan of hurt. The images tried to return but he forced himself to think of anything else, from jet engine coolant systems, to the intricacies of the circuit board he was working on, to Pepper beneath him on the beach just two weeks ago, minus her swimsuit, gasping in ecstasy as he thrust into her as the waves washed over them. Oh great, now he was getting hard on top of everything. And it was becoming uncomfortable. Suddenly JARVIS's soft voice came from the ceiling, just above a murmur. 

"Excuse me, sir, but I see you have been awake for some time now and I knew you would not want to wait until morning. I have the results of Ms. Potts' bloodwork," the A.I. said. 

Tony sat upright. "Well?" he asked. "What did you find?" 

"As near as I can determine," said JARVIS, "aside from a blood alcohol level consistent with around half a martini, as Ms. Potts indicated she consumed, there are no recognizable synthetic chemicals in her bloodstream. In short, no sign of the date rape drug or any other chemical that could act in a similar manner."

Tony felt his shoulders slump and the wind go out of him hard for a second time that night. He had so been hoping there would be something, anything that could excuse Pepper's indiscretion, as she seemed to hope there would be. Were it not for the fact that Pepper was terrible at bluffing or lying, he would write off her insistence for a blood test as some desperate ploy to try and convince him she had been drugged and had not chosen to cheat on him of her own volition. The only thing was that wasn't Pepper's style. She had come straight home and told him about it. If she were that prone to that level of deception, and willing to go through with a major round of blood tests, she must have truly felt something would be found, or else she would not have mentioned her actions with Killian at all. It just didn't make sense. The only logical explanation was that she had indeed been given leave of her senses. Could she have been hypnotized or something? But then, JARVIS continued.

"This is not to say there were no anomalies, however," the A.I. continued.

"You found something?" Tony asked, perking up.

"Indeed, something very odd," said JARVIS. "I noticed that there were some extremely high levels of estrogen and testosterone in Ms. Potts' system, much higher than normal. In fact, her levels were seven time the normal amount when a woman is ovulating, which is considered the time when a human female's libido would be at its highest. There also seems to be some indication, given her adrenal levels and activity in her pituitary glands that this rapid release of estrogen happened very quickly, as if she were exposed to some sort of pheromone, which triggered the rapid sexual response. I also found heightened amounts of oxytocin, which usually indicates sexual arousal, but should have abated following cessation of sexual activity, and fairly rapidly as well. That she had such levels in her system nearly an hour after....activity, would seem to indicate that they were nearly three times the amount during. This could also have been due to heavy exposure to pheromones."

"I thought human pheromones didn't exist?" asked Tony.

"They exist in other species similar to humans," said JARVIS. "It is not that they don't exist, it is that they have not been identified yet by science.   
Studies have already shown that human infants can smell the identifying smell of their mothers, that women can smell a man's sexual intention towards them, and that women who occupy the same living space often have synchronized menstrual cycles, that would indicate some form of pheromone. Such chemicals are known to be heavily involved in behavior modification, especially in insects and animals in a mating ritual. Pheromones can be a powerful method of altering behavior as well. Beekeepers often make use of pheromones to alter the behavior of their hives, and hunters use pheromones to drawn in prey who would otherwise avoid the area. Pheromones that drive sexual behavior can be very powerful, overwhelmingly so."

"Yeah but Pepper's not a bee," said Tony with irritation. "Humans can control our instincts, pheromones or not. Are you saying she *was* drugged, with some as-of-yet undiscovered human pheromone that altered her behavior?"

"It would be impossible to say without further tests, sir," said JARVIS. "We would not know what to look for, we can only test her physiological responses. Something triggered her heightened estrogen response, and it would not be mere attraction to a man in the normal sense. It would have had to be some synthetic factor we are not detecting with normal blood tests that would trigger an estrogen level seven times the normal amount. Something also drove her erstwhile unprecedented behavior, as we can agree that infidelity is not normal behavior for Ms. Potts. Yes, humans have control over their instincts: when they know what they are dealing with. If Ms. Potts had no indication that she was being influenced by any outside force, she would not have been able to present a mental guard against it. Furthermore, pheromones are delivered via olfactory nerve, which is an immediate link to the brain. The effects would have been instantaneous, and overwhelming, especially if delivered in an enclosed space such as the headquarters meeting room, or the alcove of the café in which she met Mr. Killian. Incidentally, I have acquired and destroyed all local security footage of that area. A testing of the air vent filters in the conference room might be in order, although I expect such chemicals would have dissipated by now."

"So was she drugged or not?" asked Tony.

"Until further notice, it would seem reasonable to deduct that she indeed was," replied JARVIS. "However, the only proof of that is in the odd reactions of her system in the form of elevated, but normal, chemicals in her bloodstream. There is no evidence of out-of-the-ordinary chemicals in her system at present. This leaves us only to conjecture, I'm afraid. In other words, there is around an 80% chance that yes, she was indeed drugged with some new, and undetectable, natural pheromone chemical, but it is not testable and it is unprovable at this point. We must simply ask ourselves, do we believe what she says? Voice stress analysis that I run on all who enter the premises did not indicate that she was being untruthful. And I have enough data on Ms. Pott’s voice habits over the last decade to be reasonably assured of that result. It should also be taken into account that she did not attempt to hide the infidelity from you, but instead came in and immediately told you. I can assure you, her emotional responses were real, given her elevated heart rate and blood pressure. She was truly upset. Her pupil dilation and vocal tones at the mention of the possibility of being assaulted and drugged indicated she truly believed her statement to that effect. Her elevated hormones past the point of natural occurrence indicates that she was exposed to some out of the ordinary, synthetic event. Her uncharacteristic behavior is what would be expected of someone not in full control of her senses, especially if exposed to a behavior altering chemical. Her disgust at the event, once removed from the situation, would indicate that her behavior is atypical for the situation, once she is no longer exposed to the behavior altering chemical that allowed the behavior in the first place. All of these would, logically, point to an exterior factor in her behavior, and thus her behavior should not be considered normal in this case. It would be up to you to decide how you would like to proceed from this point. I would only ask you this: if I had found Rhopynol in her system, would you feel the same irritation towards her behavior?"

"Of course not," snapped Tony. "The date rape drug renders someone incapacitated. It isn't their fault after that point."

"In theory," said JARVIS, "A synthetic pheromone essentially does the same thing. Only consider this, sir: consider how insidious such a chemical as an aerosol delivered synthetic sex pheromone could truly be? Instead of merely causing a woman to pass out from a detectable drug, now a perpetrator could deliver a synthetic pheromone via aerosol method that disperses rapidly, which would then cause her natural libido to rise, her inhibitions to fall, and she would then 'consent' to behavior she otherwise would not consent to. Only once it was over and she was away, she would immediately feel regret and disgust, for the same reason any rape victim would. She would feel as if the choice, a choice made of sound mind, had been removed from her. Only instead of sympathy from law enforcement, she would only be met with disbelief, if she reported it at all. She would have to answer 'yes' to the question of 'did you consent to the activity?' when in fact, she was incapacitated and did not know it. She would harbor feelings of guilt for consenting, not knowing that she actually did not. She would feel as if she were at fault for the activity, when she had, in fact, been drugged to do it. Law enforcement would not be on her side, as the activity would appear consentual. The pheromones are not currently detectable, and elevated hormones are not part of a standard chemical blood analysis. They would be looking for drugs and would find nothing. It is a truly frightening concept, when you think about it, sir. And consider your own situation with Ms. Potts. Already, you question her on a personal level. How many other relationships would suffer because of such an invention? Furthermore, it is worth noting, that AIM is engaged in bio-research engineering. This is entirely the sort of thing their laboratories would come up with, and AIM is no stranger to unethical research. According to my analysis of Ms. Potts' tablet notes, her meeting with Mr. Killian today indicated that Stark Industries would not partner with AIM's current research due to her suspicion that Mr. Killian and AIM had proceeded with human testing without FDA approval, and Stark Industries does not need such associations that could come with a Federal investigation. Ethics does not seem to be of much concern to Mr. Killian."

Tony was floored by JARVIS' reasoning. It was true that such a potential drug as an undetectable pheromone-based date rape drug could wreak serious havoc in the dating scene, amongst rapists and for law enforcement. Furthermore, if Pepper had indeed been incapacitated in this manner, then it would seem the entire purpose had been purely for retaliation on Killian's part. Without the evidence that Pepper had been exposed to a behavior altering chemical of some sort, it would appear that she had simply cheated on Tony, which ensured a serious wrench, possibly even a breakup, in their relationship. For Killian, this would be poetic justice. It would mean getting even for Stark Industries (Pepper's) refusal to fund AIM's research, for Tony's professional rejection of him in Bern 12 years ago, for Pepper's personal romantic rejection of him when she worked at AIM, and to test to see if the substance actually worked, which would result in Killian getting laid and having a go at Pepper, which is what he had always wanted. Aside from the lack of funding for his projects, the whole scenario looked pretty good from Killian's position. It might even result in a breakup between Tony and Pepper, which would be very public and very embarrassing for both of them, once the reason why got out. It was, essentially, the perfect revenge.

Tony felt cold, overpowering rage flood his veins as the prospect. He was so angry he began to shake, causing JARVIS to ask if he was ok. He replied that he was, and carefully forced himself to lie down, lest he get up and start breaking things. He did some of the deep breathing yoga exercises Pepper had taught him, and felt himself slowly beginning to calm down. He wasn't completely certain yet whether or not he believed Pepper was guiltless in all of this. It still seemed to him that on some level she should have been able to resist, pheromones or not. And yet, if JARVIS' theory was correct, she had been subjected to a situation no different than having been drugged and raped. JARVIS was right about one thing: if she had been drugged and assaulted, Tony would feel very differently. He would not even be considering holding her to blame for anything, and would be on the phone with the police reporting Killian for rape. He would also be downstairs holding her, comforting her. No, he wouldn't be downstairs at all, he would be right here, with her in the bed with him, holding her and comforting her. 

With a sigh, he knew he should not have told her to leave their bed. At the time, it seemed a reasonable course of action, but until they knew for sure what had truly happened, he should not do anything that would damage their relationship any further. He got up, and carefully walked down the stairs, padding over to the sofa where she lay, still asleep. He almost smiled at the messy mop of red hair that tumbled over her head, hiding half of her face as she slept. He brushed her hair back from her face and watched her face, though peaceful in sleep, still bearing the expression of being troubled. He pulled the blanket back from her body, and slid his arms under her knees and shoulders, lifting her against his chest. His heart ached at the feeling of her warm body against his. His heart pounded and his groin tightened, but he forced himself to remain steady. Now was simply not the time. He walked towards the elevator, careful not to disturb her.

He managed to make it to the doorway of the bedroom before she stirred, blinked, then opened her eyes for good and looked around in surprise.

"Tony, wha--?" she grumbled. "What's going on?"

"Shhh, go back to sleep," he said gently, laying her down on her side of the bed and pulling the blanket over her.

"I thought, you said, I thought you didn't want..." she stammered.

"I don't know what I want," said Tony. "I just know I don't want to make even more mistakes about this. Go to sleep, we'll talk in the morning." He crawled into bed next to her, not touching her, but not shrinking away either.

"Did JARVIS find something?" she asked.

"Yes, he did, but not what we were expecting," Tony answered. Briefly, he gave her a summary of what JARVIS had said, and instructed the A.I. to upload his findings and summary to her tablet for review in the morning.

"So I *was* drugged?" she asked darkly.

"We're just not sure," Tony replied. "It looks that way. I just don't know."

Pepper turned away on her side, stifling a sob. "So if JARVIS hadn't found what he did, would I still be sleeping on the couch?"

Tony felt a flash of anger, coupled with a flash of hurt. He swallowed it down and moved towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She tensed at his touch, then relaxed. Apparently she wasn't sure how she should respond either.

"I just don't know, Pep," he said, not bothering to hide the woe from his voice. "I just know we're in no condition to discuss it rationally now. Let's sleep on this and deal with it in the morning, OK?"

"OK," she whispered, letting a few tears fall. She breathed a deep sigh, and then settled back down into a restless sleep. Tony followed soon after, both of them grateful for the dreamless sleep that followed.

*************************************************************

The next morning was no less strained between the two of them, even with JARVIS' revelations, mostly because there was no clear evidence that there was truly something amiss. Pepper maintained that she was not even considering Killian as an alternative to Tony and could not understand her actions the day before. Tony wanted to believe she had been drugged in some way, but the newness of pheromone technology, if it even existed, was making it difficult, especially since his own pride and ego was hurt at her infidelity, whatever caused it. Thankfully the next day was Saturday and while they spent the morning not exactly avoiding each other, but retreating to their separate spots in the house where they threw themselves into their respective workloads, Pepper was grateful for Tony's suggestion that they walk down to their favorite hole in the wall beachside restaurant a mile down the road for dinner as a change of pace. The familiar atmosphere caused them both to relax a little, and they talked of neutral topics on the way back home as a means of breaking the ice. That evening was spent on the sofa in Tony's workshop watching some of their favorite mutual programs, but not talking much about the elephant in the room. That night they slept in the same bed again, but there was little contact, and both were starting to feel the strain of their emotional separation, if not a physical one.

The next morning, Pepper made breakfast smoothies, and finally broached the topic, knowing they had had enough time to try and discuss it rationally.

"So what do you want to do about this?" she asked with hesitation.

Tony sighed. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Pepper responded, "I feel like a hypocrite for saying it, after the lecture I gave you when we first got involved about cheating on me and how I planned to handle it if you did. I never thought the tables would be turned like this. I'm still not even sure I was in my right mind and that they should be. It's not clear cut that I did or did not make a conscious decision to do anything, and I'm not sure how far the repercussions should go. Part of me feels like I should be held accountable, part of me says it's not my fault. Whichever of those is true means two very different appropriate responses to this situation for me. I do know this, though. Even though we've had issues lately that we need to work out, I've never thought they were so serious to warrant looking elsewhere or ending this with you. I still love you, and I don't want this to be over. I feel like that would be a mistake, one Killian wants us to make."

She looked away blinking back tears.

Tony was quiet for a moment before responding. "Ever since the day I met you, I thought you were amazing. I was a selfish, immature ass the day you barged into my office like a banshee, demanding to be heard about that accounting mistake I had made that you had found, and no one wanted to listen. You were honest to a fault, and sharp, really sharp. I could see your potential. Even after all these years, I still can't believe how stubborn you are to have stuck with me. I know I had to be the most difficult person to work for. I don't know when I realized I loved you. I'd say during Afghanistan, but I know that isn't true. Even when that bomb exploded and I thought I was going to die, my last thought was of you. It surprised me, but I realized later it shouldn't have. After Iron Man and all..." he broke off.

He walked to the window and looked out. "Pepper, I realized after the Expo and I thought I was dying how much time I've wasted not being with you the way I needed to be. Then after New York, and it's been so difficult...I know it's been rough for you, but I've been so grateful you've been here. I've been cracking up and I'd have been gone long before without you. The thought of you with someone else...I just can't bear it. And Killian....I mean if JAVIS is right, it really wasn't your fault. But it still hurts. I need to figure out what I think and feel about this. It isn't going to happen overnight. I just need some time to think. But I don't want to be hasty. I still love you, and I need you. I think we just need to see what happens."

Pepper nodded. It wasn't unreasonable.

After throwing herself into her work all weekend to distract herself, for the first time in years, she really had nothing to do that was business-related, nor did she want to do anything outside the house. The way she was feeling right now, roller coaster emotions and her mind racing a mile a minute, what she wanted was to do something mindless. Tony had his suits to lose himself into, unhealthy as that might be, so she decided to crash on his workshop couch, so they could at least be in the same proximity, and lose herself in a book she had already read, just to let her mind unwind until Monday morning.

Tony suggested she stay home on Monday if she needed to, but she was anxious to get back to the office. She didn't want to give any indication that anything was amiss around Stark Industries, and the only time she missed work was if she was sick. That was common knowledge around the office. They managed a hug and a kiss before she got into her car, unmoved since that fateful Friday night, and drove up and out of the garage. Tony breathed a sigh. He hated to see her go, especially with the nagging voice in the back of his mind saying she might be going back to Killian, but on the other hand, he was anxious to have some time alone in the house to use JARVIS as a sounding board to try and work out what to do. Besides, all his vehicles had GPS installed on them, and he had instructed JARVIS to let him know if her route deviated in any way. He supposed that made him a jealous stalker of a boyfriend, but he had reason to be now. He was never so happy as to see the map on one of his screens indicate that she had arrived at the office. He hadn't told Happy what had happened, but had quietly instructed his security friend to keep an eye on Pepper, with an offhand comment about Killian being miffed about her turning down his business offer and having a history of instability, to which Happy was more than eager to respond to.

However, if Tony was hoping for a quiet and reflective morning, he was soon disappointed.

"Sir?" came JARVIS' accented voice.

"Yeah, what J?" Tony replied.

"I'm sorry to have to upset you, sir, but it seems there's a problem concerning Ms. Potts' er...unique, situation," the A.I. said almost regretfully.

Tony felt his spine stiffen as images of her and Killian flashed in his mind again. "What now?" he asked.

"Well, sir, as you know I monitor the Internet for anything of interest to you or concerning you and those close to you. It seems that about 12 minutes ago, a video of some sort was played in a Home Depot electronics section, which was recorded by several mobile devices and is currently being uploaded to various social networking sites. It concerns Ms. Potts," said JARVIS.

"Concerns her how?" asked Tony. "What's the video of?"

"It is...of her and Mr. Killian. It appears their encounter was...recorded. And is now being uploaded to the Internet," said JARVIS.

Tony felt his blood run both hot and cold. A video? Of Pepper and Killian?

"Identify and block all uploads as you can, JARVIS," he ordered quickly. "Shut down all access to the Home Depot and upload the coordinates to my suit. And block the accounts of the users. Put a clamp on it any way you can. I'll deal with the FCC later," he said, dashing for his Iron Man suit. He could be mad later. Right now, time was of the essence if he wanted to stop this video from utterly ruining Pepper before it went viral.

Tony had decided to leave his new Mark 42 suit at home and take his reliable, and less easy to spot, silver Mark 2 to the Home Depot JARVIS had indicated was ground zero for the uploaded video of Pepper and Killian. JARVIS had taken control of the electrical grid in the area and forced a power shutdown of the store to keep the video from playing on any screen. However, at least 9 people had recorded the video using their smartphones and uploaded to social media, where it was on the verge of going viral. It was taking JARVIS longer to pinpoint their user accounts and disable them long enough to remove the video, as well as locate where it had been re-shared. In the meantime, the security footage of the store's surveillance cameras showed the driver who had brought Killian to Stark Industries lurking around in the store, and then slipping a disc into one of the DVD players connected to the store's banks of TV screens. When JARVIS had shut down the power, the machines had lost power as well, so the disc was likely still in the machine. 

Tony landed on the roof, exited the suit, pulled s and slipped down the access vents to the employee areas below. He made his way down on to the store floor and headed towards the machine JARVIS had indicated. Using a pocket knife, he pried open the player and breathed a sigh of relief to find a home burned disc still inside. He pocketed it and returned the way he came to his suit on the roof, just as JARVIS restored power to the store, mystifying the electrical repair men working outside who could not figure out why the lights had gone off at all. Tony flew back to his house, both relieved and nauseous. He knew in his pocket was the evidence of Pepper's infidelity. He also knew there was no way he'd be able to stop himself from watching it, even if he broke the disc, which is what he knew he SHOULD do. He also knew he was going to have to tell Pepper. Even if this was contained, word was already getting out about what the video had contained, and JARVIS simply couldn't delete hundreds and hundreds of tweets. All he could do was try and stop the actual video from spreading.

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Pepper's office phone rang shrilly and she momentarily thought about ignoring it. She had buried herself in work all day to try and occupy her mind, and for the most part it was working. When she saw it was Tony's number, though, she grabbed the phone. He didn't often call her at work, preferring to text instead, and she didn't want to miss an emergency. She gripped the phone and leaned in, her voice soft.

"Tony?” she asked. "What's up?"

"Pepper, there's...uh...there's a tape," he said hesitantly.

She was confused. Tape? What tape? "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Of you and...him," Tony said, not quite able to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Killian."

Pepper felt the blood drain from her face, her breathing go shallow and her knees turn to liquid as Tony explained to her, what had happened and how he had retrieved the disc, how JARVIS was trying to keep word and video from spreading on the Internet, and how they were only having moderate success.

"Have you.....have you seen it?" she gulped.

Tony was silent. That was all the answer she needed.

"You have," she whispered, dejectedly.

"Yeah," he said softly. There was no point in lying about it, although he could have. And she knew why he had watched. If the situation had been reversed, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't have herself. She felt tears burn in her eyes, but thankfully they didn't fall. She felt shame burn her cheeks, but it quickly dissipated and was replaced by anger. There was no doubt in her mind anymore. She had been purposely set up.

"Tony," she said, the anger apparent in her voice, "There was no time to start up a recording device. He had it going before he even left the apartment. He planned this. I don't know what he did to me, but he did something. He set me up. He was pissed that I turned him down before personally and now professionally. He's pissed at you for the incident in Bern. He planned this. He always intended to do this to me and upload the video. He knew it would embarrass both of us and throw a wrench in our relationship. That.....that bastard."

Tony heard the anger in her voice, and he had to agree. He was still royally hurt, but he knew she was right. She didn't cheat on him willingly. Killian had set up this elaborate scenario to humiliate her, probably Tony too, and test out some new drug nobody would believe could even exist. It was the only explanation that made sense. His anger was also rising. Someone had done something to Pepper and hurt her. He wanted to find Killian and smash him until Tony himself felt better about the whole thing. But that wouldn't work. Killian would just sue and the publicity would only add to the problem. Now, they had to decide what to do.

:Come home," said Tony. "We need to deal with this. JARVIS may not be able to keep this from going public, word is already out as rumor and we'll have to answer it. We need a game plan."

"I'll be home in 20 minutes," she said with determination. She hung up, gathered her stuff in record time, and rushed out, telling her secretary that she was going home. The confused looks that followed her were nothing compared to some of the knowing looks she got on the way down to the parking garage. Could some of them have heard already, she wondered? How could she be CEO of Stark Industries if she was a laughingstock? Tony's exploits were usually met with congratulations, as was the unfortunate, and sexist, fact of him being a man. But for her, she was expected to maintain the double standard or lose professional respect. Once this got out, it would be very hard for her at work. She drove faster than normal, intending to get to the mansion in record time. This time, she wanted no questions about where she was between leaving work and arriving home.

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"Well, we could lie," said Tony, tossing his pizza crust back into the box, as he faced Pepper across their bed. He suppressed a smile as she reached into the box and snatched the crust up to eat it. It wasn't that she enjoyed the crust, but he knew she hated to waste anything. Plus it was her favorite roasted garlic stuffed crust, and she never let that pass. It was not uncommon for them to order pizza and spend the night on their bed in old, comfortable pajamas watching mindless television, occasionally stopping to make love, then go back to whatever pizza was left and a marathon of World's Dumbest Criminals on the TruTV network. It was a guilty escape for both of them to laugh at idiotic criminals who got themselves locked in the convenience store they were robbing while eating cheap fast food. It also smacked of familiarity, something they had done when there were no issues between them as a couple. It was a return to normalcy.

Tony stared at Pepper, wearing her favorite purple pajamas, leaning against her pillow. The whole scene was so normal, it was both a relief and disconcerting.

"Lie how?" she asked.

"We could tell everyone the video was faked," he said. "I can have JARVIS take the original, doctor it to look like a professionally done fake, release it on the Internet, and tell everyone it's faked. It’ll overtake the real one fairly quickly. If professional video analyzers look at it, they will see evidence of tampering, not knowing it was the original, SHOWING you that it was tampered with. They would concur it's a fake. We could also say it was a revenge plot on Killian's part, that he was upset about us turning him down. The motive is certainly there, and people at AIM would remember how he pursued you."

"That could work," she said pensively. He waited, watching her as she mulled it over in her mind. In his mind, it was the best option. As he let her think, his own traitorous mind wandered back to earlier this afternoon, the images of the video flashing in his mind. He thought imagining her with Killian had been bad. Actually seeing it, and knowing it was real, was much worse. He turned away and closed his eyes, trying to remind himself that she had been under the influence of something. He also knew, from watching her on the tape, that it had been purely mechanical for her. The look of adoration in her eyes that he saw when she was with him wasn't there. There had been no foreplay, no caress that came from caring about someone. It had been faster and more mechanical than Tony's own former exploits, in which he had not cared at all about his partners and his purpose had been to achieve an orgasm as fast as possible. And she had only come once. Tony usually managed to get at least two, sometimes three, out of her. That gave him a very small measure of relief, but not much. JARVIS had warned him not to watch it. As usual, the AI was right. But Tony knew he had to watch. Others had already seen his girlfriend on the tape; it was only fitting that he see it too. But as hard as it had been to watch, Tony knew it had served one real purpose. Pepper was right, she had obviously been set up. From now on, he would support her, no matter what, at least with this. 

There would be no breakup, and while it might take time to relearn to trust her again, he knew he still loved her, and was not going to turn his back on her, not for this.

"No," she said with a sigh. "It won't work. We can't lie about this."

"Why not?" he asked. "You want to tell everyone it's true? Surely not."

"No, I don't WANT to tell anyone any such thing. But we have to," she said with resolve. "For one thing, you know me, I can't lie to save my own butt. I'd never be able to keep up the cover story convincingly. Second, I don't want him to get away with this. He wants me to run with my tail tucked between my legs. He wants to see us split up hoping you'd never believe he did something to me, that I cheated on purpose. No way, Tony. I don't hide. I'm going to stand up and tell the entire world what he did. Plus, if there's some new pheromone drug out there, people need to know about it."

"You know the paparazzi will hound you without mercy," he said, hating the thought of her in the crosshairs of those vultures. "The media will eviscerate you. And people at work...Pep, it's going to suck bad."

"I know," she said quietly, shivering at the thought of what was coming. "But I have to. It'll be hard. But....you'll be with me. Right?"

She looked so vulnerable, her blue eyes looking up at him beseechingly. His heart melted. He crawled up alongside her and took her in his arms. He wasn't back to the point to where he could easily make love to her, but they were back in the same bed and he believed in her and supported her. He was going to stand by her.

"Of course I will," he said, kissing the top of her head. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and closed her eyes against his chest. For the first time in nearly a week, she smiled with relief. She snuggled up against him and breathed in his scent as he nuzzled her ear. Their faces turned towards each other and their lips met hesitantly. Both were still uncertain about whether or not it was OK with the other, but when she relaxed into him, deepening the kiss, Tony had to fight for self control to keep from responding in his usual manner, feeling a surge at her obvious desire or him. Too much had happened in the last week, and he didn’t want to rush things. When he gently broke away and told her they should wait a little while, the disappointment was evident in her eyes, but he pulled her down onto the bed with him and continued kissing her soundly, brushing her hair back, and relaxing her. Their make out session was one of the gentlest, sweetest ones either of them had ever encountered. Pepper felt a flood of warmth at his acceptance, and need of her, reassuring her that maybe everything would actually work out. She fell asleep wrapped in his arms, with her nose buried against his neck. Tony drifted off later, content but still anxious, knowing the firestorm that was approaching and wishing they could avoid it.

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Tony had to admit, he couldn’t remember another time when he was more proud of Pepper. Although things were still hesitant between them, they were re-learning how to be comfortable around each other again, even resuming some of their usual affectionate banter. JARVIS had managed to stem the tide of the video of Pepper and Killian going viral, but had not been able to stop it entirely. Tony hadn’t told Pepper, but he had secretly re-engineered his own copy of the video, having it play the original for about 20 seconds, right before things got interesting, and then popping up a message that said “Thank you for downloading this video, we have installed several viruses on your system. We now have access to your personal information and bank accounts. Thank you for the donations, have a nice day!” Tony had released multiple copies of this version of the video onto specific targets of the internet and it was quickly overcoming the real video. JARVIS tracked the IP addresses of those who downloaded the altered video, having actually installed tracking software on their systems, and, using this method, was able to trace the real video to sites they had missed and removed it. Plus, once word got out that the video was laced with viruses, downloads slowed tremendously.  
Tony knew Pepper would frown in disapproval at this tactic, so he simply refrained from mentioning it. She simply accepted that the video was out there, though not seen by nearly as many people as it could have been. Word had gotten around the office of course, and the board was thoroughly furious about the situation, knowing what a breakup between Tony and Pepper could mean for how the company functioned at the administrative level. There had been several heated boardroom arguments, with Tony standing firmly by Pepper, and making it known that they were still together and everything would continue to function. No doubt several lower level employees had seen the video, as evidenced by some snickering in the halls as both Tony and Pepper would pass by, to say nothing of the stares, but most people were amazingly supportive, especially once Pepper had sent a general email to the employees explaining a truncated version of what she and Tony believed had happened.

It helped that most at Stark Industries adored Pepper anyway, and the whole mess had shocked them terribly. The thought that Pepper had been horribly wronged in some way by the CEO of an unethical rival company did a great deal to rally the staff around Pepper’s version of events, even though some still were derogatory, as would be expected. 

Now, Tony watched with trepidation and pride as Pepper slowly took the podium at the press conference they had called, and he winced to see Vanity Fair’s Christine Everheart, one of his own past indiscretions and mistakes, sitting in the front row with a smirk on her face. She wouldn’t be kind in her report, Tony knew. In fact, judging from the way most of them were looking at Pepper, he figured few of them would treat her kindly in their reports, regardless of what she said. She was obviously nervous, but she lifted her chin and faced them all. She tried to keep the waver out of her voice as she explained that the rumors regarding a leaked video were, sadly true, but not for reasons everyone thought.

She went through the tests Tony had run on her, the anomalies found in her blood work, and their suspicions, based on the research they knew AIM to be doing. Tony had to smile as Pepper subtly hinted that the business reasons behind Killian’s retaliation had to do with the potential unethical human testing that might have occurred, knowing the FDA would likely investigate. Pepper had ways of dropping such subtle bombs without making it a direct accusation, even though Tony suspected the legal department would soon be vetting a defamation lawsuit from AIM over it. Pepper stressed the seriousness of the matter if a synthetic pheromone–based behavior altering drug did indeed exist, and cautioned law enforcement to consider the implications. She then reiterated that she and Tony were still together, were handling their various issues like adults, that she was still the co-CEO of Stark Industries with Tony, and there was no plan to change this in the foreseeable future. Then, with a small gulp imperceptible to most except Tony, and Happy, standing nearby scanning the crowd for trouble, she opened the floor to questions.  
Unsurprisingly, Christine’s hand shot up first, followed by many others. Pepper closed her eyes for a second, then, with a sigh, called on Christine, obviously wanting to get her out of the way first.

“Ms. Potts,” Christine started with a slight air of disdain, “I’m sure pretty much every woman in this room probably has a ‘story’ of her own, some past sexual indiscretion she wishes never happened, and would love to have an excuse like this actually carry water. How do we know any of this is fact? You have some bloodwork anomalies? Are we ever going to see that? Is it verified by an actual doctor? Isn’t it more likely that you simply cheated on Tony, had ‘morning-after remorse,’ and just thought up a nice, weird science story to cover for it once the evidence went viral?”

Tony saw happy flush and felt his own hackles raise at Christine’s implication, and he glanced towards Pepper who flushed slightly, but then smiled.

“Yes, Ms. Everheart, I know for a fact some of us in this room have morning after remorse about ‘past indiscretions,’ as you call them. And I know those people would prefer those indiscretions remain unknown, and are also probably very glad video doesn’t exist of them, or so they think,” Pepper said sweetly, and with a slight wink in Christine’s direction. Tony bit back a grin as he saw Christine pale at Pepper’s implication that a video might exist somewhere of her and Tony, even if only a few people in the room even knew about it.

“Obviously I don’t have that luxury,” Pepper said. “When Bill Clinton lied about Monica Lewinsky, most people were upset more about the fact that he lied, not so much about his infidelity. Not that it’s ok, mind you, but if he had just come out and admitted what he had done, we could have avoided impeachment proceedings over it and public embarrassment of the country. When prominent people make these kinds of mistakes, it almost never works to lie about it. And even if you do successfully lie, there’s always the question by those who don’t believe it. I’m not good at lying, and I know being up front about it is the best way. I, personally, believe every word I just told you. You can see a copy of my test results if you want, and you should know I’ve passed voice stress lie detector tests. But for some, it’ll never be enough, and I get that. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. I still maintain that I was exposed to some new chemical that alters behavior. It should be understood and known to the general public. It was done for personal and professional retaliation. That should also be known. That’s why I’m up here. No, if the video had not been made public, likely we never would have said anything about it. Frankly, it’s no one’s business. But Mr. Killian has forced the issue, so here we are.”

Another reporter raised his hand and said "What is your response to Mr. Killian's statement this morning that he did nothing to you, that it was entirely consensual on your part?"

Pepper looked the man dead in the eye and said "Well of course I would expect him to say that. I have already explained my position and what I believe happened. He isn't going to admit to administering an unknown synthetic pheromone for the purpose of revenge sex, is he? There's really nothing further to add, is there?"

The reporter had the grace to shrink under her stare. 

Unable to watch Pepper take the verbal beating on her own any longer, Tony stood up and walked up to stand beside her. She looked surprised but gave him a quiet smile as he turned alongside her to face the crowd, placing his hand on her back in both a comforting and slightly possessive gesture. All eyes turned to him.

"I know you all came here expecting drama, maybe even one of my famous press release meltdowns," he said wryly, "so I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm not going to pretend I'm OK with this situation, or that everything's cool. But I *will* say that we're working on it. You don't just end a decades-long friendship and romantic partnership overnight, no matter what happens. That's not to say relationships don't go south, everyone in here knows they do. But it's almost never because of just one incident, even a big one. There's usually a ton of stuff leading up to it long before. The fact that this is the one and only story you've heard about Pepper says a lot, doesn't it? That's why it's so hard to believe, that's why you're all here."

Pepper was watching him intently as he paused for a minute, then continued, "Eleven years ago, a young, dedicated and somewhat irritated, low level administrative assistant from the accounting department came barging into my office, all put out because her supervisor had just fired her for insisting she had found an accounting error I had made on a very high level contract, one that would cost the company millions of dollars a year if not corrected. She took it all the way to the top, so to speak. And I had made a mistake, a bad one. She found it. She told off my security guards, accused me of being drunk when I drew up the contract, rolled her eyes in disdain when I attempted to flirt with her, and asked if I was insane when I hired her on the spot to be my personal assistant. She was honest to a fault, not afraid of me or anyone, sharp and witty, and probably the most organized and efficient person I had ever met. She was exactly who I needed looking out for me. And she did it for over a decade. And somewhere along the lines, we became friends as well as colleagues. Everyone in here has read the articles written about both of us, both before and after we started dating. The articles written about Pepper being steadfast, reliable and professional are all true. She refused to date me until I was technically not her boss anymore. Anyone who has ever done business with her knows how honest she is. People here at S.I. love her and for good reason. None of that has changed. Our reasons for being together haven't changed. before anything else, we are friends first, and that's still true. As far as I'm concerned, she was drugged and not responsible for her actions. As of today, we are still dating and will continue to be. That's it, people. It really doesn't get simpler than that."

Pepper’s smile of gratitude at him dazzled him for a brief moment, and Tony had to resist the urge to kiss her right there in front of everyone. They both knew it would come across as too orchestrated, meant only for theatrical reasons for the press. He didn’t want her to think that was why he was kissing her. He settled for draping his arm across her shoulders and giving her an amicable squeeze, which she leaned into with practiced ease. A quick scan of the crowd told them both that about a third of the reporters found it endearing and probably believed them. The other two thirds had cynical, and somewhat smirkish looks about it, and would probably write more scathing gossip. Oh well, it couldn’t be helped. Pepper had wanted to tell the truth, and so they had. Tony only hoped the fallout wouldn’t cause the worst case scenario of trouble, something that might end with a vote of no confidence from the board on Pepper or the business world making it harder for her to do her job as CEO. Tony’s ruminations were cut short when he realized Pepper was answering one final question, something about whether or not they thought Killian and AIM would sue them for defamation of character at their accusations.

“I’m sure they probably will,” Pepper was saying, “But they’ll be too busy dealing with ours against them. Furthermore, since we’re going to be making insinuations on personal levels, as Mr. Killian has shown no problem in doing in his interview this morning, I will only say this: a man who fires an employee for not completing an impossible deadline, refusing to date him, or fails to make an experimental project behave exactly the way he wants is not a man you want to do business with. A man who needs to drug a woman to get what he wants from her, and does not understand the concept of personal boundaries and has come close to having restraining orders levied against him is a man someone might want to think twice about becoming personally involved with. I know I’m not the only one out there with a story about Mr. Killian. Men like him don’t behave this way only once or to only one person. Keep that in mind, anyone who might have dealings with him. That’s all I have to say on this matter now, or in the future. Thank you all for coming.”

Her fingers entwined with Tony’s and she pulled him off the stage with her, which he was all-too-glad to follow. Even though Pepper had called the press conference and most of the fire had been directed at her, Tony felt drained and ready to bolt back to his workshop. Regardless of his confused feelings about the situation, he still had no desire to see Pepper hurt in any way, and he wasn’t looking forward to the fallout he knew was probably coming. Pepper’s last statement had been risky, and if AIM or Killian had not been considering a personal lawsuit before then, they probably would now. Not that Tony was concerned; lawsuits were a part of life for billionaires, CEOs and business in general. His father had once told him that you know you have truly made it when you get your first lawsuit, almost like a rite of passage or something. He just didn’t want their lawyers to have to deal with this on top of the business related stuff they were already swamped with. He found himself almost wishing something would blow up or those damn aliens would come back to distract everyone from this situation. He found himself half wondering what Captain Steve Rogers would have to say. Surely he had seen all this on the news, wherever he was? And Director Fury? Would this catch SHEILD’s attention? Tony was certainly not looking forward to answering those questions.

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The morning sunlight came in through the unfiltered bedroom windows as JARVIS drew the curtains back, allowed the tinted windows to go clear, then slowly slide back to admit the perfect 68F degree weather outside. December in California was always beautiful, with gorgeous, cooler weather. The sounds of the surf below wafted up into the bedroom as a gentle ocean breeze came in, ruffling the sheets gently. It gave the room the feeling of being open and airy, as if it were a cabana on the beach instead of an indoor room.

Tony came to slowly, feeling oddly rested, even though he had slept fitfully again the night before. Somehow, getting the press conference out of the way and taking some of the force out of Killian’s attempts to ruin them had lifted some weight neither he nor Pepper had realized they were carrying. It had been two weeks since that terrible night, and four days since the press conference, and things were finally settling down. He turned over and saw Pepper dozing beside him, on her stomach, her red hair cascading around her. For the first time in a while, she actually looked relaxed. His heart went warm at the sight of her, and he moved to take her in his arms, waking her up slowly with kisses along her hairline. She smiled and slowly opened her eyes halfway, still sleepy, and wrapped her arms around him, nestling her head into the curve of his shoulder. She sighed contentedly.

Tony dropped kisses along her cheek, the bridge of her nose, then slowly across her lips. She responded immediately, arching into him and pressing her body to his. He felt his head buzzing as his entire being came alert and focused entirely on her. Both of them had gone two weeks without special attention from the other, unsure whether it was OK to even proceed, and the strain of it affecting both of them. But prior to now, Tony had known the timing wasn’t right. He had to allow himself to fully forgive her before he could have moved forward, and Pepper had known to give him the space he needed. It would take a long time for the hurt to heal, they both knew, and maybe a fraction longer for the trust to rebuild, but the forgiveness couldn’t wait.

Their breathing became shallower and speeded up, as Tony carefully rolled her on to her back. Her hands moved to the hem of his shirt to pull it off, but he caught her wrists and carefully moved them away. This time was going to be different, he knew, and he didn’t want to rush. In essence, it was a second beginning for both of them, a starting over, and he wanted to take his time, but be purposeful in what he did. Her eyes gave him a questioning look, but seemed to acquiesce to his need to be methodical. Tony carefully moved his lips over every inch of her body, pushing her shirt off as he moved over her heated skin. Not a single centimeter was missed as he moved down from her face, shoulders, arms, and then her chest, licking and sucking her nipples just long enough to get her to whimper, but not long enough for her liking before he continued his ministrations.

Her hands came up again to touch him, and he relented to her removing his shirt, but again pushed her hands back down, needing to focus on her, before giving in to the driving need that was threatening to consume him. He made his way down her abdomen, running his tongue down her belly, but stopping just short of where she wanted him to go, before gently turning her over and continuing down her back. Her whimpers of protest were mingled with ecstatic groans, and Tony was having a hard time ignoring the pressure in his boxers. Moving off the bed to kiss his way down her legs, he swiftly removed them, before turning her back over to mouth his way back up her inner legs and thighs. Unable to keep her hands at her side any longer, she twined her fingers in his hair, gently pulling him in, making it clear what she needed from him. Briefly Tony thought about drawing it out, making her wait for it, but decided that would be vindictive at this point, and delved into her core to answer her need. She was already flowing and slick and she moaned in ecstasy as his lips moved over her sensitive flesh. Her hips jerked in a forceful climax when he used his tongue to spread her folds, flick her nub, and then dive into opening. His hands gripped her hips holding her in place as she shuddered against him.  
He released her and moved up her body to lie on top of her. Her hands moved to his erection, seeking to return the favor, but he stopped her again. If he let her do what he knew she was planning, there was no way he’d last as long as he needed to. There would be time enough later for her to do with him what she wanted, but for now, he had specific plans. She was still panting when he positioned himself at her entrance and slid into her easily. She orgasmed instantly with his entry and she gasped in joyous pleasure. Tony felt his entire being swell with pride and love. They needed nothing synthetic or contrived between them, no pheromones, drugs or cajoling, to elicit these responses. He knew she reacted to him this way because she loved him. She needed nothing else, and he had already gotten two orgasms from her. He planned to give her at least three just for good measure.

But instead of thrusting into her, as he normally did, he pushed his hips slowly, and yet powerfully, into hers, coming to settle deep inside her. She arched her pelvis against his, willing him to move, but he held himself still inside her. He pushed his arms under her back, drawing her close to his chest and cradling her head in one hand. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, twisting his tongue with hers and rocking his hips gently, backwards and forwards. The movement pushed his groin directly into hers, causing sparks of sensation to shoot up her spine. The erotic effect was consuming. He was barely moving inside her, instead using the base of his penis to hit her clit repeatedly. She groaned at the sensation, meeting his kisses fiercely.

The breeze from the open window wafted over both of them as Tony continued to rock into her. It was both arousing and soothing at the same time. Any thought of Killian and what had happened fled from their minds, along with the strain of public opinion waiting for them outside, and for these few minutes, the only thing that existed in the world for either of them was each other. Pepper felt emotion like she had never felt before so intensely burst forth in her chest, and she blinked back tears as it overwhelmed her. If someone were to shoot missiles into their living room right now and blow up the house, she would die a happy woman. Instinctively, she knew what Tony was doing. Nobody wanted to use the term “reclaiming,” since it implied a sense of ownership of the other, and as a couple, they had never been that way. They had never been possessive of each other the way some couples might be. But essentially, that’s what it was. In a way, she was reclaiming him for herself too. Tony was her choice, her choice made with a sound mind. Now, she knew that he knew it.

He broke the kiss and stared down at her, locking eyes with hers. It was almost too intense, and her first impulse was to look away, but she knew that would be a mistake. It worked. Her final orgasm didn’t hit her like a tidal wave as the previous ones had. This one started as gentle ripples, almost in time with the breeze and waves, but gained strength and momentum, as the ripples became contractions. It was drawn out, powerful, and soul-gripping. She wrapped her legs around his hips, drawing him deeper. Tony could no longer stand the sensation of her walls clamping forcefully on him, and finally thrust into her hard. He only lasted a few seconds. As her vision began to darken from the sheer intensity of what she was experiencing, she was vaguely aware of a spreading warmth in her core, flooding her, as he followed her over the edge.

Tony collapsed on top of her, utterly spent and stunned by the force of emotion and sensation he had just experienced. It had almost been too much. For Pepper, it had been. For around five seconds, she lost consciousness, coming to slowly as her breathing tried to regulate itself. With what energy he had left, but staying inside her, Tony carefully rolled them both to the side to take his weight off of her. He brushed her hair back from her peaceful, smiling face and kissed her gently.  
“I love you,” they both whispered at the same time, and then laughed, hooking their pinkies and saying “jinx” in the childish gesture of warding off evil if two people spoke the same words at the same time.

They wrapped their arms around each other, basking in the afterglow. After a few minutes, Tony was in the middle of suggesting they go out for breakfast, when JARVIS interrupted.

“Sir,” I hate to interrupt, but there’s a situation,” the A.I. said quickly, as if afraid he would be yelled at for breaking in on the scene.

“Aww, J,” Tony groaned.

“What is it, JARVIS?” Pepper asked quickly, before Tony could mute him.

“There is an incoming call from Regional Memorial Hospital,” JARVIS said quickly, also sensing he was about to be muted. “There was another Mandarin attack at the Chinese Theatre last night. I’m afraid Mr. Hogan was caught in the explosion. He is in the intensive care unit in critical condition.”

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Pepper faced the security staff at Stark Industries with some trepidation. The staff of S.I. was still unsure what to think of their CEO’s situation and how it would affect her job performance, and people had walked on eggshells around Pepper for several days. However, the news that the head of security was severely injured in an apparent terrorist attack had stunned everyone and had brought them back to reality. Pepper had to ensure security would be properly handled in Happy’s absence, and was addressing the staff to the temporary changes.

She had appointed Happy’s two most trusted men, Thomas and Marcus, to oversee the daily operations, with Thomas being the better manager, to act as head of security in the interim. She was in the middle of explaining to the security team that she knew they would perform their duties admirably as if happy were still with them, that she expected their full cooperation with Thomas, and to consider signing the get well card she had picked up for Happy, intending to bring it to the hospital as soon as she was done with the meeting. Tony was there now, having bolted for the garage, barely stopping to get dressed, as JARVIS had filled them in. He had been there for several hours already while Pepper called the emergency meeting of the security staff and some of the other department heads.  
Suddenly, one of the security men piped up, pointing to the video screen currently turned to a news station. “Um, Pepper? Isn’t that Tony?” he asked.  
Pepper whirled around and watched in disbelief as Tony turned, irate, to the reporters and issued his challenge to the Mandarin. Pepper felt the blood drain from her face and resisted the urge to give in to her collapsing knees and head for the nearest chair. What the hell was he doing? She knew he was upset about Happy, she certainly was too. And she knew they both were fed up with the press given her situation the last couple of weeks. But to issue a threat to a terrorist because they were bugging him? Oh hell no.

She grabbed her jacket and purse and headed for the door. She called to her secretary to cancel her meetings, that she had to get home fast.

“How long are you going to be out?” her secretary called after her.

“Until further notice,” Pepper called back, heading for the door. She had to get home fast. She had some packing to do, for both her and Tony.

The End.


End file.
